


look at what they make you give

by Sakurablossom009



Series: Cops and Robbers...and Assassins? [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:20:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakurablossom009/pseuds/Sakurablossom009
Summary: When Sasuke saw his brother’s reflection in the mirror as he finished buttoning his dress jacket, he thought that if he ignored him for long enough, he would eventually leave. But Itachi never played by anyone’s rules but his own.A collection of one-shots set in the same universe as Hit the Floor Running.
Series: Cops and Robbers...and Assassins? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/381184
Kudos: 9





	1. Tea Ceremony [Tenten, Neji]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenten x Neji
> 
> Tenten never thought she would be getting married

Truth be told, Tenten didn’t ever think she would get to have this.

That thought caught inside her chest a little, catching her off guard. It had been a last minute decision of hers, something that she had thrown in just for the heck of it. But now that she was here, kneeling on the living room floor, she felt the weight of her decision and it was far heavier for something that had initially been spur of the moment.

It was just a stupid tradition.

The tea set had been her mother’s. It had been the one thing that her father refused to sell, always claiming that Tenten would need it for the day she got married. Tenten remembered scoffing at him and ridiculing not only the tradition, but the idea that she would ever do something as useless as get married. But her father had been adamant, so adamant that Tenten had found the tea set years later in a forgotten cupboard, hidden behind musty jars of medicinal herbs after her father’s passing. True to his word, he never sold it off.

It was the one thing Tenten had left of her mother. Perhaps that’s why her father had been so insistent. It was a beautiful set – bright red with intricately painted dragons along the surface of each cup, saucer and pot. Tenten remembered reluctantly stuffing it in her beat up suitcase on the day she left Hong Kong. She hadn’t been willing to admit it to herself then, but the thought of leaving the set behind like she was leaving behind her parents was too much to bear.

The pot was steaming and Tenten hadn’t realized how cold her hands had become until she lifted it and poured tea into two of the cups. She lifted the first cup and placed it on the table.

“Mother,” She whispered in Cantonese, “Please drink this tea. We thank you for the love you have shown us.”

She had nothing to symbolize her mother. No pictures, no heirlooms, nothing except the tea set itself. Instead, a single red rose had been placed on the table in her honor. Tenten wondered if her mother had ever seen a rose.

Tenten picked up the second cup and placed it on the table. In her father’s place she had a photo, one single photo that had managed to survive. When Tenten was still a kid, her bother had gotten a Polaroid camera that he claimed he stole off of some useless tourist. At the time, Tenten had believed him as she believed almost everything that her brothers used to tell her, but later Tenten suspected that he saved up every scrap he made that year to afford the camera. Maybe that’s why her father never took it from him. He took dozens of photos that year, but the only one to survive was the one in front of her now. It was her first day of school and Tenten was scowling at the camera while her father held her hand and looked on in disinterest.

The photo was fading and battered from years of neglect, but now it was the only photo she had of her father.

“Father, please drink this tea. We thank you for the love you have shown us.”

She gave a perfunctory bow of her head before collecting the cups and dumping the tea into a bowl. With her part done, she passed the set over to the man beside her.

Neji Hyuuga didn’t even spare her a glance as he took the set and poured the tea, parroting the words she had said only moments before. As Tenten stared straight ahead, she waited for Neji to collect the cups back and for the whole farce to be over. Instead, Neji put his hands on his knees and leaned forward, his back hunched slightly.

“Father, I know that we never got the chance to meet and it would be odd for me to ask for your permission now.” Said Neji in near perfect Cantonese. “But, it’s important for me to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Tenten turned sharply toward Neji. What the hell was he doing?

“I’ve never met anyone quite like your daughter.” Neji continued, “She’s a mess of contradictions that I suspect may take me a lifetime to figure out. She didn’t want to have this ceremony until I mentioned it to her and she will claim that she’s only doing it for the heck of it, but sir, I think tradition is quite important to your daughter.

Tenten didn’t realize that she was crying until Neji turned to her and his expression dipped, his eyes softening. “Ten…” He murmured softly as he put a hand to her cheek and carefully pulled her toward him.

She allowed him to pull her, falling into his arms as he held the back of her head and she gripped his shoulders with increasing desperation. When the tears finally subsided, Tenten slowly pried her fingers from the fabric of Neji’s jacket, smoothing it flat as she pulled away from him.

“I’ve ruined my makeup.” Tenten dabbed at her eyes, feeling stupid as she said the lie. Neji likely knew as well as she did that she didn’t have any makeup on; she didn’t know how to use the shit. But to leave what was likely to be heavy silence between them in the wake of her breakdown seemed more unbearable than having Neji catch her in a lie.

Neji gave her the barest hint of a smile. “You still look beautiful without it.” Then he moved to collect Tenten’s tea set and took it to the kitchen without another word.

Tenten sat there for a minute, momentarily stunned. Neji had never called her beautiful before; he wasn’t the type to give compliments easily and it was rarer still for Tenten to accept them. And Neji was never one to let a lie stand.

“ _Ba_ ,” She whispered, turning toward her father’s picture. “I think I picked the right one.”


	2. First Glance [Sakura, Sasuke]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura x Sasuke
> 
> Sakura and Sasuke meet for the first time.

“Oh my _God,_ Sakura,” Said Ino bumping Sakura with her hip as she stood to stand beside her, drink in hand. “Are you going to stare at him all day or are you going to go over there and _talk_ to him?”

“What?” Said Sakura, feigning ignorance even as her cheeks colored. “What are you talking about?”

“Please.” Said Ino as she took a sip of her gin and tonic. “If your eyes had teeth, you would have devoured him already. Not that I could blame you…” Said Ino, glancing over to where Sakura had been staring before. “He looks _delicious._ ”

“Sakura,” Ino said, suddenly grasping her shoulder with her free hand as her baby blue eyes fixed her with a deadpan stare. “If you don’t get your size two ass over there this _instant_ , I will announce to this whole crowd,” She said, waving her arm out toward the party in front of them, “That you had to scream ‘Leigh has the power of youth’ while losing your virginity.”

The color drained from Sakura’s face. “You wouldn’t.” She whispered.

“I would.” Said Ino. “And I can blame the whole thing on intoxication, so scoot!” She cried, giving Sakura’s ass a slap.

Sakura fixed Ino with a dirty look while the blond blew her a kiss and gave her a thumbs up before she focused on weaving her way through the crowd and tried not to get anything spilled on her. Then, before she knew it, he was right in front her. He looked even better up close than he did from the back of the room. God, her palms were sweaty.

Sakura silently joined him by the wall and it was another few minutes before she finally worked up the courage to speak. “Enjoying yourself?” Sakura asked, willing her voice not to crack.

He turned toward her and she was amazed by the depths of his eyes. “It’s a learning experience.” He said. He spoke English well, but she detected a slight accent and suddenly became ten times more curious than she had been before. If she found out he was British, she would faint then and there.

But since he didn’t offer anything else, not even his name, Sakura didn’t know how to keep the conversation going. If she asked him something else, would that mean she was nosy? Or pesty? What if he had a girlfriend somewhere and he didn’t want to lead her on? She could kill Ino for making her do this.

“That’s it?” He suddenly asked, tilting his head at her.

Sakura turned to him, confused. “I’m sorry?” She asked.

“You’ve been staring for quite some time.” He said, nodding with his head toward where she had been standing with Ino previously. “When you came over, I thought you were finally going to introduce yourself.”

“I…” Said Sakura, suddenly mortified. Oh God! What should she say? She was a cowardly chicken and she really was going to kill Ino for this!

“You aren’t like most women.” He said, disrupting Sakura’s thoughts.

“Thanks?” Said Sakura after a beat. What was she supposed to say to that?

He smirked and Sakura found that it fit his features well. “I’m Sasuke.” He said, extending his hand.


	3. Brotherly Chat [Sasuke, Itachi]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke x Itachi
> 
> An introspective chat between Sasuke and Itachi

When Sasuke saw his brother’s reflection in the mirror as he finished buttoning his dress jacket, he thought that if he ignored him for long enough, he would eventually leave. But Itachi never played by anyone’s rules but his own so Sasuke knew he shouldn’t be surprised when his brother eventually tired of lurking in the doorway and purposefully strode in to help Sasuke with the rest of his uniform.

“What are you doing here?” Sasuke grumbled, equal parts irritated and embarrassed by his brother’s fussing. He knew he never should have given his mother a key to his apartment.

Itachi paused for a moment before his nimble hands resumed finishing the clasps on Sasuke’s uniform. For a brief moment, Sasuke had the strangest feeling that he had somehow…hurt his brother. But that was fucking ridiculous; Obito had once said – or perhaps _complained_ was the correct word – that Itachi had the emotional depth of a teacup. Obito may have been the black sheep crybaby of the family, but he wasn’t wrong.

“You thought that I would miss this day?” Itachi stood up right and smoothed the fabric over Sasuke’s shoulders before he brought his fingers up and gave Sasuke a vicious flick on the forehead.

“Fuck!” Sasuke flinched, immediately bringing a hand up to massage the spot. “Fucking prick.”

Itachi had been present through Sasuke’s adolescent years and now he was so immune to Sasuke’s dirty mouth that he rarely commented on it anymore unless Sasuke let one slip in the presence of their mother. Instead, he merely leaned against Sasuke’s dresser and crossed his arms.

Itachi was silent for a long while, allowing Sasuke to pull his shoes on before he spoke again. “Why do you think I hate you?”

“The fuck are you going on about?” Sasuke attempted to smooth down the cowlick on the back of his head before promptly giving up. It was forever a lost cause.

Itachi didn’t repeat the question; Itachi never repeated himself especially when he knew Sasuke had heard him properly the first time. Sasuke could ignore him, but he already knew that if he did, Itachi would follow him the entire day and Sasuke would never be able to forget the question. It would bury deep into him like a fucking tick and drive him insane until he had no choice but to let it out. Usually angrily. And then if his mother was around, she would be disappointed with him. It had happened before so Sasuke knew from experience.

Fuck Itachi! Sasuke had no time for this; this was supposed to be _his_ goddamn day!

Sasuke grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his dresser and a lighter and angrily strode out to the balcony, knowing full well that Itachi would follow him.

“Why wouldn’t you hate me?” Sasuke asked as he took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled. “I’m a selfish disappointment to the family – Father’s words, not mine – and you’ve never disagreed with him before.”

To Sasuke’s surprise, Itachi gave a huff of laughter. “You think that I don’t remember why you’re doing this?” He took Sasuke’s cigarette and took a long drag.

Sometimes, Sasuke had no idea where a conversation was going when he spoke with his brother. Itachi’s mind made connections two steps ahead of Sasuke’s which often made him infuriating to talk to. Sasuke supposed that’s why Itachi was considered the genius and not him. “Can’t you just fucking say what you mean to say and get to the point?” Sasuke grumbled as he snatched his cigarette back.

Itachi flicked his long hair over his shoulder as he stared at the spire of Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in the distance. “When you were six, you said that you wanted to be the CEO of Uchiha Industries when you grew up, but Shisui said that was impossible because I was going to be CEO.” Itachi looked at him from the corner of his eye, “You had that pouty look on your face – you know the one, you still have it sometimes – and so I told you that it was ok, because I was going to join the _polizia_ instead.”

Sasuke knew where Itachi was going with this. Always two steps ahead. “You think I’m doing this for you?” Sasuke pinched the cigarette a little too tightly between his fingers as he took another drag. “You couldn’t be farther from the truth. I’m not doing this as some kind of fucking _favor_ to you just because Father wouldn’t let you join the _polizia_.” 

Itachi was silent again for a long while; another infuriating trait of his brother’s. ‘Geniuses need time to think’, their mother always retorted when Itachi remained silent for too long and it was a trait that even their father hadn’t been able to stamp out of him. It was more than thinking though; Sasuke knew how Itachi weighed every word in his mind, as if analyzing every possible combination so that when he finally did speak, there was no way his words wouldn’t hit their mark.

But Sasuke didn’t want to hear what Itachi had to say; he wanted this conversation to be over. Hell, he never wanted to have this conversation to begin with. He would have been perfectly happy if his family had just fucked off and left him to attend the ceremony alone. Why the fuck would Itachi think that now would be the time to talk about their fucking feelings?

“Whatever you were going to say, just don’t say it.” Said Sasuke as he finished the cigarette and flicked it to the ground. “I need to leave.”

Itachi’s face was unreadable. Sasuke didn’t give a fuck; he quickly collected his things and didn’t bother to check if Itachi was following him out of the apartment or not. When Sasuke was younger, he would often cry because he looked at Itachi’s face and thought his brother was angry with him. It took him a long time to figure out that Itachi just couldn’t show emotion the way everyone else could and that if he wanted to know how his brother was feeling, he would have to learn a different way.

What Sasuke had seen in his brother’s body language wasn’t anger or even sadness. It was disappointment. Itachi wanted to know why Sasuke thought Itachi hated him? He had given him the truth – because he could never stop being a disappointment.

**Author's Note:**

> A collection of one-shots set in the same universe as Hit the Floor Running. Sometimes I get so distracted with world building that I forget to write the main story.


End file.
